North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection

Testify for stronger forest and watershed protections!

Sick of seeing all those clearcuts? Worried about climate change? Want better protections for drinking water? Don’t miss this opportunity to voice your concerns to the Oregon Board of Forestry!

On January 8th and 9th, the Board of Forestry will be convening in Salem for their first meeting of the year. In order to ensure that state forestland is managed for multiple values including clean water, fish and wildlife habitat, biodiversity, climate change mitigation, and recreation, we need to hold the Board of Forestry to their commitment to enact climate smart forestry on our state forests.

In addition to pushing for a strong Climate Plan, we should let the Board of Forestry know that we want more transparency and public engagement with the draft Annual Operation Plans (AOPs). Every spring, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) issues draft AOPs including all proposed timber sales in each state forest district. The ODF provides a 45-day comment period, but public notice and engagement is very limited, landowners adjacent to proposed timber sales are not notified, the ODF requires steep fees to obtain the most basic information about the proposed timber sales, and public concerns are routinely brushed aside.

Last year, North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection (NCCWP) joined with Wild Salmon Center and the State Forest Coalition to increase public engagement with the AOPs. Due to community advocacy, there was a record level of public engagement—with 1,061 comments submitted statewide calling for timber sales to be modified or eliminated to better protect clean water, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, and carbon storage. For perspective, only 29 comments were submitted statewide in 2023. We expect the ODF to improve their communications with community members and adjacent landowners and be more responsive to the concerns of the community.

Written comments can be submitted until January 23rd by mail to the Board Support Office, 2600 State St., Salem, OR 97310 or email to [email protected]

For questions or access to an information packet with talking points, email Avi at [email protected].

Building Resilient Connections Between Ecology & Community in Rockaway Beach, Oregon

Please join us in Rockaway Beach, Or Saturday, January 18, 2025, at 12:00 PM for a presentation by Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) students from the University of Oregon (UO). Their research, Coastal Futures, focuses on climate change adaptation strategies for coastal communities in Oregon and is led by Ignacio López Busón, a UO Assistant Professor of Climate Change Resilience.

Save Mothball Hill, Davis Ridge, And Slough Hill From Clearcutting

WHEREAS, the proposed clearcuts named ‘Mothball Hill’, ‘Davis Ridge’, and ‘Slough Hill’ (Alt) in Oregon Department of Forestry Astoria District draft Annual Operations Plan for 2025 are immediately abutting numerous residential properties and recreational areas, and fail to address community concerns;

WHEREAS, Oregon Department of Forestry’s planned logging fails to address unprecedented climate change and does not account for the increasing coastal heat waves and water scarcity correlated with deforestation;

WHEREAS, the standard practice of pesticide applications after logging can have serious impacts on the health of neighboring residents, recreationalists, drinking water quality, and wildlife;

WHEREAS, clearcutting and replanting practices are known to increase wildfire intensity and reduce stream flow for up to fifty years post harvest; they are known to increase risk of landslides on steep slopes, as found at ‘Mothball Hill’ and ‘Slough Hill,’ as well as increase flash floods during storm events;

WHEREAS, the proposed logging near John Day River and Gnat Creek increases the likelihood of silt and other contaminants impacting drinking water, as well as wetlands and tributaries that are essential to salmon and other aquatic life; salmon are a native species that are endangered due to numerous industrial practices including clearcutting;

ACCORDINGLY, Petitioners want ‘Mothball Hill’, ‘Davis Ridge’, and ‘Slough Hill’ removed from ODF’s 2025 Astoria District Annual Operations Plan and eliminated from further considerations of timber harvests in the future.

ACCORDINGLY, Petitioners want the ODF to publicize draft Annual Operation Plans in multiple media at least two months in advance of the public comment deadline and to make a special effort to contact and meet with residents living in proximity to any planned logging before initial approval.